The external account is derived from the detailed balance of payments current and capital accounts (see International accounts and trade). It shows Australia's exports and imports, incomes and transfers received by Australian residents from non-residents, and incomes and transfers payable to non-residents by Australian residents. The balance on the external account is net lending to non-residents. This is the same as the balance in the national capital account.

Tables 29.17 and 29.18 show the external account for a number of years between 1965-66 and 1999-2000; table 29.17 shows a series of snapshots at five-yearly intervals to 1990-91, while table 29.18 shows annual time series from 1991-92 to 1999-2000.

29.17 EXTERNAL ACCOUNT, Current Prices - Five-Yearly

1965-66

$m

1970-71

$m

1975-76

$m

1980-81

$m

1985-86

$m

1990-91

$m

Imports of goods and services

3,683

5,214

11,163

25,530

47,199

66,948

Primary income receivable -

- Compensation of employees

11

17

44

110

164

429

- Property income

400

760

1,587

3,147

8,879

20,552

- Total primary income receivable

411

777

1,631

3,257

9,043

20,981

Secondary income receivable

169

358

773

1,264

1,797

2,653

Capital transfers to non-residents

40

78

203

320

486

653

Acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets

-

-

-

-

-

-7

Net lending

-899

-782

-1,454

-5,597

-14,658

-15,611

Resources provided by non-residents

3,404

5,645

12,316

24,774

43,867

75,615

Exports of goods and services

3,136

5,086

11,225

22,604

38,948

66,259

Primary income payable -

- Compensation of employees

10

13

59

119

165

432

- Property income

93

164

370

741

2,025

3,325

- Total primary income payable

103

177

429

860

2,190

3,757

Secondary income payable

79

248

486

823

1,413

2,875

Capital transfers from non-residents

86

134

176

487

1,316

2,724

Resources provided to non-residents

3,404

5,645

12,316

24,774

43,867

75,615

Source: Australian System of National Accounts (5204.0).

29.18 EXTERNAL ACCOUNT, Current Prices - Annual

1991-92

$m

1992-93

$m

1993-94

$m

1994-95

$m

1995-96

$m

1996-97

$m

1997-98

$m

1998-99

$m

1999-2000

$m

Imports of goods and services

69,269

79,077

85,396

97,654

101,078

103,590

118,482

126,453

140,954

Primary income receivable -

- Compensation of employees

326

311

283

389

458

539

792

854

941

- Property income

18,179

18,452

19,031

24,669

26,215

27,331

27,597

27,472

30,394

- Total primary income receivable

18,505

18,763

19,314

25,058

26,673

27,870

28,389

28,326

31,335

Secondary income receivable

2,898

3,423

3,451

3,554

3,463

3,674

4,051

5,377

4,558

Capital transfers to non-residents

695

743

758

843

907

877

971

1,011

1,230

Acquisitions less disposals of non-produced non-financial assets

-

33

-17

-32

-25

6

-30

19

64

Net lending

-11,298

-14,639

-15,937

-28,074

-20,613

-16,597

-21,691

-32,549

-32,558

Resources provided by non-residents

80,069

87,399

92,965

99,004

111,483

119,420

130,172

128,637

145,583

Exports of goods and services

70,080

76,899

83,015

87,654

99,095

105,160

113,744

111,843

125,774

Primary income payable

Compensation of employees

455

497

511

551

610

678

747

797

817

Property income -

3,996

5,583

5,269

6,390

6,530

7,885

9,637

9,201

11,927

- Total primary income payable

4,451

6,080

5,780

6,941

7,140

8,563

10,384

9,998

12,744

- Secondary income payable

2,764

3,073

3,112

3,026

3,292

3,497

3,976

4,599

4,652

- Capital transfers from non-residents

2,774

1,347

1,058

1,383

1,956

2,200

2,068

2,197

2,413

Resources provided to non-residents

80,069

87,399

92,965

99,004

111,483

119,420

130,172

128,637

145,583

Source: Australian System of National Accounts (5204.0).

Australia has generally been a net borrower of funds from overseas. In the national accounts, this situation is reflected by a negative value for net lending to non-residents. The only exception to this pattern was in 1972-73 when Australia was a net lender to non-residents. Net borrowing from non-residents (i.e. negative net lending to non-residents), expressed as a proportion of GDP, increased significantly during the early 1980s and has remained at relatively high levels since then. Graph 29.19 shows net lending to non-residents as a proportion of GDP since 1965-66.

The importance of foreign trade to the Australian economy is illustrated by graph 29.20, which shows the ratios of exports and imports of goods and services to GDP for the financial years 1965-66 to 1999-2000. In 1999-2000 the import ratio was 22.3% and the export ratio was 19.9%.

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